Dinesh Karthik reveals his batting position for remainder of ICC World Cup 2019

ICC World Cup 2019 news: Amid middle-order crisis, Dinesh Karthik revealed that the team management has cleared his role at No.7 in the batting lineup

File photo of Dinesh Karthik&nbsp | &nbspPhoto Credit:&nbspAP

Key Highlights

Dinesh Karthik revealed that the management has asked him to bat at No.7

He made his World Cup debut in game against Bangladesh

Amid India's continuing debate and concern over the middle-order lineup, Dinesh Karthik, on Friday, revealed that the management has asked him to bat at No.7 for the remainder of ICC World Cup 2019. Karthik had made his World Cup debut earlier this week, against Bangladesh, 15 years after making his ODI debut for India. He batted at No.7 after Hardik Pandya was promoted up the order and scored only eight runs.

“I think they’ve been very clear on what my role has been. When I go in at No 7, I need to pace myself accordingly if we bat second,” Karthik said ahead of India’s final league-stage game against Sri Lanka, at Headingley in Leeds.

“If we are batting first, then make sure we get to the par score that’s required. They’ve made it clear that this is where I’ll be batting, and my role is to make sure, whatever the situation is, assess it and do the best that I can,” the Tamil Nadu cricketer added.

It was, however, Karthik's second World Cup call. He had earned his maiden call-up in 2007, as a back-up for MS Dhoni, but failed to feature in a single game. Subsequently, he missed the bus in 2011 and 2015 editions. But after a string of impressive knocks as a finisher, Karthik was picked by the selectors for the World Cup squad, ahead of an explosive Rishabh Pant. And finally, in the game against Bangladesh, he made his debut after the management picked him to replace a struggling Kedar Jadhav.

“I’ve been waiting to get this opportunity. So the motivation is there. The hunger is there. It’s about going there and executing. Yes, it didn’t exactly go according to plan against Bangladesh. But I’m sure that in the games to come, that I’ll try and put my best foot forward,” he said.

Meanwhile, India have qualified for the semis, but their fate depends on their match against Sri Lanka and the results in Australia versus South Africa game. India are most likely to face England in the semis.

Karthik also defended India's ability to chase totals after the team failed to make to 338 against England last week.

“No, to be honest, I think India is a team there have been good chasers for a long time and we’re very confident of chasing. I was asked why teams haven’t chased enough. I think the reason being they’re worried about the scoreboard pressure. But having said that, I think we as a team believe that we are good chasers, because that’s what we do day in, day out,” a confident Karthik said.